Nut-castellating machine



June 1 1926.

0. A. SMITH NUT CASTELLATING MACHINE Filed Oct. 14, 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 anvmtoz "Av f Oscarfls il June 1 1926.

O. A. SMITH NUT CASTELLATING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 14-, 1921 June 1,1926. 1,587,246 4 V o. A. SMITH NUT CASTELLATING MACHINE' Filed Oct. 14, 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented June 1, 1926 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OSCAR A. SMITH, OF EAST CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE NATIONAL ACME COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

NUT-CASTELLATING MACHINE.

Application filed October 14, 1921. Serial It'd 507,661.

This invention relates to nut castellating machines, the object of the invention being to provide an improved machine of this class, which will successfully castellate nuts from the inside out, the present machine being an improvement in part upon the machine shown and described in Patent No. 1,157,258 dated October 19, 1915 to Smith and Rindfieisch, assignors to The National Acme Company of Cleveland, Ohio.

The machine shown and described in that patent was a very successful machine and many of them have been in successful opera tion for a number of years, but like all automatic machinery, is capable of improvement. As set forth in that patent, it was very desirable to punch the nuts from the inside out, and that mechanism was devised for that purpose. However, in that machine the punch was supported in a horizontal position and consequently had to be thinned or ground down in order to enter the boreof the nut, which operation necessarily weakened the punch considerably, and therefore when used with nut blanks other thanvery small one, the life of the punch was shorter than it otherwise would be. Therefore, the present improvement has largely to do with the strengthening of the punching mechanism, whereby the necessity of grinding the punch in the manner in which the punch was ground in the patent referred to is entirely avoided. Consequently the punches are less expensive to make and are stronger and more durable in use.

The object therefore, of the present im provement, is to provide a nut castellating machine, in which the blow of the ram will be imparted to the end of the punch instead of to the side or back thereof, as in the patent referred to, while the movement of the punch will be in a vertical direction, thus making it possible, when desired, to strike heavier blows without injury to the punch or its carrying mechanism, while at the same time the nut may be castellated from the inside out.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification, Fig. 1 is a pian view of that part of the machine taken below the ramoperating mechanism; Fig. 2 is a front view of certain of the mechanisms shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side view of this improved machine, parts thereof betional View taken on line 55 Fig. 4; Fig,

6 is a cross sectional view of a part of the nut blank carrier mechanism and diagrammatically illustrating the movement ofthe punch; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the punch; Fig. 8 is a face or front View of the nut blank die for carrying the nut blank to be castellated; Fig. 9 is a cross sectional View taken on line 99 Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is a cross sectional view, of the die taken on line 101O Fig. 8; and Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a completely eastellated nut.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures in the drawings. r

The present improved. machine has to do with the punching of blanks, such as nut blanks, having an axial hole therethrough, and like the prior machine referred to, the several elements makingup the machine are applied to a punch press of any suitable style, a detailed description of which is unnecessary except in so far as has to do with the improved featuresof the present machine. i y p The punch press shown comprises the usual stand or base 2 having the usual power driven wheel, a shaft on which the wheel is mounted, and ram 3, it not being deemed necessary herein to show the treadle or the connecting means therebetween and the usual clutch carried by the shaft. Suitably bolted to the bed 2 of the press directly in back of the die holding mechanism hereinafter referred to is a knee block 4, and vertically machined in the front face of this knee block is a suitable dovetailed slideway 5, in which slideway is slidably housed by means of a key 6 and suitable adjusting screws 7 a dove-tailed slide 8. In this slide 8 from the top downwardly and inwardly, a suitable distance, is machined a rectangular bore into which is fitted a punch lock 9 held in position by suitable bolts 10, which secure this punch block to the slide 8, and for this purpose the punch block 9 is provided withlaterally extending flanges 11, through which the bolts 10 project, and by means of which the punch block 9 is secured to the slide 8. Machined into the 22, and is provided with as many slots the upper end of the punch, while the upper end of this bumper screw is in position to be engaged by the bumper pest 1G housed in the bore of the ram of the press, and

which bumper post has its lower end machined at an angle, as at 17, to mate with the top of the adjustable screw 15.

By this means it will be observed that the slide 8, together with the punch carried thereby, will be shifted in a vertical plane or in a straight path up and down, while the punch is located at just the right angle to properly engage and castellate the nuts from the inside out, and although this mechanism might be used to castellate nuts from the outside in, it nevertheless is more particularly adapted for castellating nuts from the inside out. The underside of the dove-tailed slide 8 is in engagement with a spring cushioned plunger 18 housed in the bed of the machine in a suitable manner, and this operates to return the slide to its normal position in readiness to be again engaged by the ram.

The die carrying means and the means for indexing the die carrying means to suc cessively index the nut blank through the several stations, the locking means for lueln ing the die carrying means, and the means for successively feeding nut blanks to the die, are substantially similar in their general construction and mode of operation tc that shown in the patent hereinbefore referred .to, and therefore only a general and brief description of these parts is deemed necessary herein. The die 20 (see Figs. 8, 9 and 10) is provided with the necess r axial opening or here 21, and rim or flange as it is desired to punch in the nut or other piece to be slotted, and therefore in the present instance six of these slots are shown. These slots communicate with the axial opening or bore 21 and are deeper at both the punch and the die by reason of the clearance way, provided by these slots. The die is suitably supported by a die carrier in the form of a ring 25, the die being secured in an annular recess in this ring by suitable bolts 26 and a clamping plate 27. This ring is provided with as many indexing and locking grooves or recesses 30 as there are slots in the die. In other words, the number of grooves or recesses 30 in the die carrier will correspond with the number of slots in the die, and of course the latter correspond in number with the number of slots or castellations the nut is to have; This die carrier or ring 25, which is generally called an indexing ring, since it is by this means in part the die is indexed, although obviously the nut could be rotated in the die if found desirable, and to which the die is properly secured by suitable means to prevent movement of the die independently of the ring, is indexed automatically by a suitable indexing means. This index ing means is in a general way similar to that shown in said patent hereinbefore referred to, and briefly comprises an indexing lever having at its end an indexing pin 52 in position to project successively into each of the slots or recesses of the indexing ring. This indexing lever 50 is actuated by an auxilia y member or lever 53, the upper end of which is secured to a cross slide 54 of the ram, and the construction of these parts may be similar to those described in said patent, and therefore more detailed description thereof is not deemed necessary herein. I

The locking mechanism for locking the indexing ring in its several stations may likewise be similar to that shown and described in the said patent, and may include the positioning means also shown and described in said patent, and consists of an auxiliary index positioning device or locking bolt 44: pivoted on a pin a5, so that the bolt can swing into and out of the indexing slots, it being swung into position to enter one of these slots or recesses each time the ring is indexed. This bolt is of course withdrawn from the slot to permit the proper operation of the indexing ring, and its die, and this is accomplished by means of a suitable cam 46 carried on the fly wheel shaft, and which cam cooperates with a lever 4-8 pivoted to the framework of the press, and the lower end of which is in position to engage this lock bolt so as to swing it free of the slot or recess in the index ring, similar means being provided to that shown in the said patent for insuring the proper cooperation of the lock bolt 44 with the slots of the indexing ring.

As the locking mechanism may be substantially similar to that shown in said patent, it will be obvious that in practice a part of the ram mechanism may be provided with a locking tooth, referred to in said patent, for positioning and also locking the indexing ring against movement.

In the present improvement, as in the patent referred to, the nut blanks are semiautomatically fed to the die and punched, and for this purpose a magazine is provided suitably bolted to a stationary part of the machine. The nut blanks are so held in the magazine that they will drop freely into position before a feed rod 73 controlled by a hand lever 7a pivoted at the front of the machine. The end of the feed rod is of course of a size suitable to fit the particular size of nut to be castellated, and will therefore vary according to the different sizes of nuts as will also the size of the punch. On pushing the handle toward the machine, it will enter slightly into the hole of the lower most blank in the magazine, and as the blank is pushed forward by the continued forward movement of the feed rod, it is by suitable means fed completely on to the rod and thus the blank is carried into the die in the manner shown in Fig. 6 in readiness to be castellated, and after it is castellated completely, the rearward movement of the handle will withdraw the castellated nut from the die, whereupon it may be removed in a similar manner to that shown and described in said patent. In fact, as "hereinbefore stated, the several mechanisms for indexing the die and locking its carrier and for feeding and removing the nut blank from the carrier may be in all'respects similar to or substantially similar to that shown and described in the said patent, and therefore a more detailed description thereof may be had by reference to that patent.

It may be said however, that in that patent the index stations or slots in the indexing ring were machined on the inner face or that face of the ring which was nearest to the working end of the punch, whereas in the pr'sent improved machines, these indexing stations or recesses are on the outer face of the carrier or on that face furthest removed from the punch, but other than this, the several operating mechanisms for the indexing ring and the die may be similar to or substantially the same as those shown in the said patent, it being merely sufficient to construct those mechanisms in such a way that'they will cooperate with the changed location of the indexing slots or recesses, and whichwould probably-require the carrying of the locking tooth referred to as -12 on a forwardly projecting part or bracket of the ram in order to properly engage the recesses in the indexing ring, this however not being shown herein, as the mode of construction and operation thereof is clearly shown in said patent. In Patents 1,157,259 and 1,157,260 are shown was by no means as strong and durable as the punch shown in the present improved machlne. Moreover it Wlll be observed that in order to get the striking point of the ram as near to the forward end of the horizon-- tally supported punch as was possible a ram extension designated as 15 in said Patent 1,157,260 and 19 in Patent 1,157,258 had to be used, which of course is entirely done away with in the present im rovement,

wherein the force of the ram is brought to bear on the opposite end of the punch. Thus, the present improvement avoids the necessity of grinding down the punch and thereby weakening it, but also the necessity of providing an auxiliary ram extension, and eliminates the necessity of supporting the punch in a horizontal position, and permits that punch to be so supported that it can move in a vertical plane, so that the direct force of the ram can be transmitted endwise of the punch directly by the punch itself to the nut blank, a very considerable improvement in this kind of a machine.-

From the foregoing, it will be observed that in this improved machine, as in the prior Patent 1,157,258 neither the punch nor the die are connected in any way with the ram, or its slide, nor with the power-driven shaft, so that any lost motion of the parts does not affect the action of the punch, and that the application of thepower of the ram on the punch is in a more direct line than in the structure shown in said patent, and that a very short stroke of the ram is suffi-' cient to do effectively the work ofpunch ing and indexing the blank successively to castellate it, and therefore the movements being short, can be made very rapidly, which results in a decided economy in time and production.

It will also be observed that in the present improvement the die and the punchare so located relatively to each other that the punch will enter the bore or interior of the nut and punch from the inside out, and this result is obtained by supporting one of said parts inclined to the other. In other words, as shown herein, the punch is so supported that it is at an angle inclined to the axis of the nut and consequently the rib or cutting end of the punch will enter the bore of the nut and castellate the same.

By this construction the punch is sup ported in an upright position by a vertically movable slide, that is, a sli lc moving in a straight line up and down wh'le the power of the ram is brought directly on the end of the punch opposite to that which en ages the nut, thus transmitting the power 01 the ram directly through the entire punch lengthwise thereof. As this punch comprises a body having a cutting rib 12, it follows that the cutting portion of the punch is materially strengthened by the body, so that the punch is much more durable in operation than the punch used in the prior patent. Furthermore, when the punch requires replacing, it is merely necessary to remove the bolts 10 and withdraw the punch carrying block 9 from its slideway 8, and the punch there-with at the rear of the machine, at which point the parts are easily accessible, and this without interfering with any of the other mechanisms. Obviously these withdrawn parts can be as easily replaced.

By means of the adjustable bumper screw 15 the punch can be adjusted either downwardly or upwardly, as occasion may require, while the adjustable screws 7 provide means for taking up any wear of the slide 8, and by means of the taper-walled slot in the clamp block or plate 13, the head of the screw M- will, as shown in Fig. 5, force the clamp block toward the rear and thus enable the flange 13 of the clamp block, which overlaps the front face of the body of the punch to force the punch back against the rear wall 13 of the punch holding block 9, and so securely hold the punch in position against movement.

From the foregoing, it will therefore be seen that the present improvement resides broadly in a punch supported in an n Bright position, and yet effective to punch nuts from the inside out, and therefore it is obvious that the various details may be more or less modified without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims.

I claim as my invention 1. In a nut castellating machine, the combination of a blank carrier, a punch comprising a body member having the edge thereof adjacent to the blank carrier extending obliquely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the blank to cause a part only of the end of the punch to extend normally into the center opening of the blank, and means for imparting relative movement to the blank carrier and punch to punch a slot in the blank.

2. In a nut castellating combination of a blank carrier, a pn comprising a body member having at one edge a rib extending obliquely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the blank to cause the lower end of the rib to extend normally into the center opening of the blank, and means for imparting relative machine, the

movement to the blank carrier and punch to punch the slot in the blank.

3. In a nut castellating machine, the combination of a blank carrier, a punch comprising a body member having at one edge a rib extending obliquely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the blank to cause the lower end of the rib to extend normally into the center opening of the blank, and means for vertically reciprocating said punch to castellate the blank.

l. In a nut castellating machine, the combination of a blank carrier, a punch comprising a oody member having the edge thereof adjacent to the blank carrier extending obliquely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the blank to cause a part only of the end of the punch to extend normally into the center opening of the blank, and means for vertically reciprocating said punch to castellate the blank.

5. In a nut castellating machine, the combination of a blank carrier adapted to carry a blank to be castellated with its axis in a horizontal position, a vertically movable punch. supporting means, a punch extending lengthwise in a vertical plane and located at an angle inclined to the horizontal axis of the blank to have substantially only the cutting portion of the lower end of the punch enter the blank, and means for delivering a blow to the punch at its opposite upper end thereby to move the punch in the direction of its length, whereby the force of the blow is transmitted lengthwise of the punch from its upper to its lower end.

6. In a nut castellating machine, the combination of a blank carrier, a punch com prising a body member having the lower end thereof normally located exteriorly of the blank, said body member having the edge thereof inclined and provided with a cutting rib extending obliquely into the center opening of the blank, and means for moving said punch to castcllate the blank from the center opening outwardly.

7. In a nut castellating machine, the combination of a blank carrier, a punch, means for causing relative movement of the carrier and punch to castellate the blank from the center opening outwardly when the longitudinal axis of the blank is in a horizontal position, said punch having at one edge thereof cut ing rib extending angularly ith respect to the longitudinal axis of the blank when in its horizontal position.

8. In nut castellating machine, the combination of a blank carrier, a punch, means for causing relative movement of the carrier and punch to castellate the blank from the center opening outwardly when the longitudinal axis of the blank is in a horizontal position, said punch having a cutting rib provided ith a horizontally extending bottom edge and a longitudinal edge adjacent to the blank extending obliquely with respect to said bottom edge.

9. The combination of a blank carrier, a punch comprising a body member having a cutting rib of relatively narrow size, and means for imparting relative movementto a blank carrier and punch to castellate the blank when the longitudinal axis of the blank is in horizontal position, said rib extending obliquely with respect to the axis oi the blank to cause the end of the rib only to project into the center opening of the blank when the longitudinal axis of the latter is in horizontal position.

10. The combination of a blank carrier, a punch comprising a body member having the edge thereof adjacent to the blank carrier extending obliquely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the blank to cause a part only of the end of the punch to extend normally into the center opening of the blank, means for adjusting the end of said punch within the blank opening, and means for imparting relative movement to the carrier and punch to castellate the blank.

11. In a nut castellating machine, the combination of a nut blank supporting means, means for indexing a nut blank, a punch supporting means adapted to carry a punch located at an angle inclined to the nut blank,

a ram for transmitting force to one end of the punch to force it in the direction of its length thereby to engage the inside of the nut blank to castellate it from the inside out, said ram having an inclined actuating face.

12. In a nut castellating machine, the combination of a nut blank supporting means, means for indexing the nut blank, punch supporting means adapted to carry a punch located at an angle inclined to the nut blank, means for engaging the end of the punch to force it in the direction of its length into engagement with the inside of the nut blank thereby to castellate the nut blank from the inside out, said punch supporting means comprising a vertically movable slide, and an adjustable bumper carried by said slide at the upper end of said punch.

13. In a nut castellating machine, the combination of a nut blank supporting means, means for indexing a nut blank, a punch supporting means adapted to carry a punch located at an angle inclined to the nut blank, a ram for engaging one end of the punch to force it in the direction of its length thereby to engage the inside of the nut blank to castellate it from the inside out, and an adjustable bumper between said punch and ram, said ram and bumper having one an inclined face.

14. The combination of a blank carrier, a vertically reciprocating slide having an obliquely extending bore, a punch supported in said bore and having a cutting rib at the upperinclined edge, extending obliquely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the blank to cause the end of the rib only to extend normally into the blank opening, and means for operating said slide to cause said rib to castellate the blank. 7 5 V 15. In a machine of the class described, the combination or"v a reciprocating ram, a rotatable nut blank diehaving an axial bore and a plurality of radial slots communicating with said bore and deeper at their ends adjacent to said here than at their opposite ends, means for supporting and indexing said die, and punch supporting means adapted to carry a punch for castellating the nuts carried by said die and in position to be operated by said ram.

1.6. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a rotatable nut blank die having an axial bore and a plurality oi radial slots communicating with said bore and deeper at their ends adjacent to said bore than at their opposite ends, means for supporting and indexing said die, and punch supporting means adapted to carry a punch for castellating the nuts carried by said die, and means for operating said punch.

17 In a machine of the class described. the combination of a rotatable nut blank die having an axial bore and a plurality of radial slots communicating with said bore and deeper at their ends adjacent to said bore than at their opposite ends, means for supporting and indexing said die, and a punch for castellating the nuts carried by said die and operative from the inside of the nut outward toward said slots.

18. The combination of a nut blank carrier, a punch having a longitudinal rib inclined relatively to said carrier to cause the lower end of the rib to normally project into the center opening of the blank, and means for vertically'reciprocating the punch to castellate the blank from the inside out.

19. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a reciprocating ram, a rotatable die carrier adapted to carry a die, means connected with the ram "for indexing the die carrier, means for locking the die carrier, a vertically movable slide adapted ice to carry a punch in an upright position at I an angle inclined to the axis of the die carrier and in a position to be operated by said ram, means carried by the slide for detachably securing the punch therein and constructed to permit the removal of the punch at the rear of the machine, and means for adjustably securing the slide in posi tion.

20. In a nut castellating machine, the combination of a reciprocating ram, an indexable nut blank die carrier, a die carried thereby, means connected with the ram for indexing the die carrier, means for feeding blanks to the die, a vertically movable slide supported for operation by the ram and adapted to carry a punch at an angle inclined to the axis of the die carrier, means carried by the slide and detachable therefrom for directly supporting the punch, and an adjustable bumper between the punch and the ram.

21. In a nut castellating machine, the combination of a reciprocating ram, an indexable die carrier, a die carried thereby, means operative by the ram for indexing the die carrier, means for locking the die carrier in its several stations, means for feeding a blank to the die, a vertically movable slide operated by the ram, means cooperating with the slide for shifting it into position to be operated by the ram, a punch carried by said slide at an angle inclined to the axis of the die carrier, and means for detachably securing said punch to the slide and constructed to permit the ready detachment thereof at the rear of the machine.

Signed at Cleveland, county or" Cuyahoga, State of Ohio, this 10th day of October, 1921.

OSCAR A. SMITH. 

